The present invention relates to a connector which is adapted to be attached to a plastic flexible corrugated tube housing a plurality of electrical leads. The connector interconnects one or more corrugated tubes together or to a suitable mating apparatus. The provision of suitable connectors has recently become of increased importance in housing wiring harnesses in plastic corrugated tubing. The tubing is used in all types of electrical equipment to protect the wirings housed therein from abuse, wear and tear, and to improve the life thereof.
As is well known, a wiring harness, once assembled, is a continuous string of one or more wires formed into bundles which terminate in a number of branches.
In placing the corrugated tubing over the harness, it will thus be evident that T, Y and other arrangements are present at the junction of the various branches. Since the corrugated tubing is made from a continuous tube structure and is not molded for a particular wiring harness configuration, means need be provided for interconnecting the corrugated tubing on each of the branches together at the junctions thereof.
To this end, various fittings and connectors are supplied for interconnecting the tubings at the wiring harness junctions. However, these fittings include a number of elements connected thereto which are costly to fabricate and therefore add greatly to the expense in providing the corrugated housing.
One type of fitting includes an internal member disposed within the core of the corrugated tubing and, an external member placed about the outer surface of the corrugated tubing adjacent to the inner member. The members are then threaded or otherwise assembled together to wedge the tubing coaxially therebetween. However, this arrangement requires fabrication of the internal piece and the external piece as well as interconnecting members for connecting one tube to another. This arrangement is costly and complex.